The Pagan Mysteries of Halloween: Celebrating the Dark Half of the Year (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Celtic scholar Jean Markale explores "the shadowy zones" of All Hallows' Eve in The Pagan Mysteries of Halloween. Though the name comes from the Christians' All Saints' Eve, Halloween can be traced back thousands of years to Samhain--the beginning of the "dark half" of the Celtic yearly calendar. As a feasting and merrymaking festival, Samhain lasted about three days, and attendance was mandatory, according to Markale. It was also the time when fairy folk made themselves available to humans, and the borders between the worlds of the living and the dead were said to blur. Markale is a thorough historian, offering a plausible account of how Samhain evolved into the modern day celebration. For readers seeking general Halloween information, Markale may be too dry and detailed. But for those intrigued by pagan festivals and lifestyle, this could be as delectable and coveted as a bag of Halloween candy. --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly

Markale, a French specialist in Celtic traditions, traces the history of Halloween from its origins as a Samhain festival, discussing its juxtaposition with the Christian All Saints Day and its modern renaissance as a mischievous children's holiday. Although the text is generally quite evenhanded, some oversimplifications creep in, as when Markale calls November 2, the Day of the Dead, "a kind of `ancestor worship' that dares not say its name," or when he claims that "we know" that the dead walk about on Halloween night "because some people have witnessed it." Markale is best when he sticks to history, claiming, for example, that after centuries of suppression in Europe, Halloween found new life among 19th-century Irish immigrants to America.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Inner Traditions (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892819006
• ISBN-13: 978-0892819003
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #95,757 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the viewpoint of an Historian, a Poet and a Philosopher, October 19, 2004

By	Boudica (Ohio USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Jean Markale is described as a poet, philosopher, historian and storyteller. His field of specialty is pre-Christian and medieval culture and spirituality. He is a very well known French author of over 40 books and is a specialist in Celtic studies at Sorbonne University in Paris.

It is not surprising then that Mr. Markale has written a most profound study of the Celtic celebration of Halloween or Samhain from the perspective of an actual historian and philosopher. The original of this book was first printed in France in 2000 and was translated and brought to the English speaking market in 2001.

I must first congratulate Mr. Graham for his extraordinary translation of this book. Not being fluent in French, I would never have tackled such a volume, but Mr. Graham has preserved, in my opinion, the poetic flavor of Mr. Markale's work. It flows rather than reading dry and halting, like many tomes on this subject.

The book is composed of only four chapters: The Celtic Festival of Samhain, The Fantastic Night, The Festival of All the Saints and The Shadows of Halloween. This is followed by a conclusion. While the number of chapters is small, the content of each is enormous, giving page after page of facts, religious comparisons, philosophies and supporting evidence for the practices of this misunderstood holiday.

I believe the best way to summarize what this book is about is to quote the author from his Conclusion:
"It is a way not of "taming death" as Montaigne said, but of exorcising it by establishing a direct line between before and after, which will display the permanence of life in all its aspects and all its states. This is the appropriate lesson to draw from Samhain and its survivals, whether the Christian All Saint's Day or the folklike manifestations of Halloween."

His book weaves these final thoughts into understanding as he unfolds the various aspects of this philosophy. I will only attempt to outline the book by its chapters, as it is difficult to take any of his material out of context without it suffering. The need to read, meditate and appreciate the written word as presented by Mr. Markale is one of the wonderful plus' of this book. To read it with all the footnotes as well as endnotes intact is to grasp the full appreciation of well researched work that pieces together the myths and stories and history with solid evidence. He creates a very balanced approach to defining what the origins and mysteries of Samhain were how it survived forced evolution and he brings it all into modern day understanding. There is a very extensive bibliography and one worth exploring if you wish to cover this topic further.

The Celtic Festival of Samhain examines the Celtic origins of this holiday. It examines the Celtic calendar, the division of the "Light of the Year" with the "Dark of the Year", compares the myths with evidence derived from recorded stories and histories and supports it with the culture of the Celtic people. He makes good arguments for the holiday occurring at the date assigned it, and then explores the practices or Rituals of the holiday. His conclusions are hard to argue with, as he produces some very strong evidence for his work. There is some wonderful material here, quoted from some common as well as obscure sources, and is both a pleasure to read and easy to understand.

The Fantastic Night explores the actual Celtic practices and meanings of this holiday. This chapter explores the philosophical aspects as evident from Celtic cultural practices. The meanings of "Other Worlds", or how time has no meaning on this occasion, and how this is supported by actual recording of cultural ideas and ideals of the Celtic peoples; all is presented here for you to savor, meditate upon and draw deeper understandings.

The Festival of All the Saints traces the evolving holiday, how it was forced into a mold created by those who failed to understand this holiday but could not remove it from the cultures of the areas. He traces how it was adapted and remade. But it is not a story of destruction but rather how the origins survived, maybe a bit worse for wear, and continued to thrive in spite of change. This is a very good look at the Christianization of the Celtic culture and how it created a very unique presence as "Celtic Christianity" and how it then proceeded to influence the rest of the Christian church.

Finally, in The Shadows of Halloween we see how this holiday has come down to us today, how it has survived the ravages of time and continues to be a time when we remember those things of old and incorporate them into our new. The outward signs are reminders of the old philosophies and beliefs and we cling to them because it sparks recognition of values that are not just Celtic, but universal ideas that cross many cultures.

His conclusions are very philosophical in nature, and are profound in the revelations he makes regarding our perceptions of life, death, time and rebirth. He uses many literary examples of how we have continued, over the course of time, to experience, again and again, the understanding of our basic need to acknowledge death and in the same breath, life. To quote again:
"Everything is contained within the apparent masquerades of Halloween. The sacred is inseparable from the profane, and popular memory, still rebelling against the dominate ideologies, has preserved within its most intimate depths and restored on certain occasions a state of nature that was so dear to the Utopian thinker Jean-Jacques Rousseau -- to wit, outside of time and space, the universal fraternity of beings and things."

Probably the best book on the subject, for its ability to successfully tackle the true meaning and origins of this very often misunderstood and sometimes feared holiday. A must read for anyone not afraid to expand their understanding and give more than a passing thought to the significance of Halloween. boudica

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An informative consideration of enduring myths, October 11, 2001

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Just in time for Halloween comes Pagan Mysteries Of Halloween, an informative consideration of the enduring myths surrounding the October holiday. The author has researched the roots of rituals and ceremonies surrounding Halloween: her focus on the festivals which marked the transition from the light to the dark side of the year makes for a revealing account.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very scary..., June 29, 2004

By A Customer

...that anyone could think this book is hard to read. Whoever does must have been home-schooled by Scooby-Doo. There's nothing difficult to grasp in this book, least of all the language. I couldn't find a single word on any page that I had to look up in the dictionary, for Heaven's sake! Although it was written by a formidable scholar with stellar credentials, it is a concisely-written page-turner for readers who are interested in the mythic roots of Halloween, the origins of the Eve of All Souls, the pagan festival of Samhain. The only criticism I have of it is it uses words such as "carnival-like" and "manifestations" a bit too often, an easy oversight to forgive considering it is a translation. Come on kids, if it's a book about how to carve pumpkins you want, you can pick that up at the dollar store.